The Clare Garden Festival Fringe launching for the first time in 2017 is all about enjoyment, education and exploration.
The word ‘Fringe’ is of course a matter of perspective – both geographically and topically – and Clare Garden Festival Fringe wants to explore all of these areas and is always open to new ideas. Aligned to this, there will be a new social media presence on Instagram in addition to its Facebook page dedicated to the Fringe festival.
Clare Garden Festival Fringe will take place from 28th April to 01st May with its highlight event Beyond Gardening – Film & Expert Talks at glór on Friday, 28th April 2017 combining the award-winning garden film ‘Dare to be Wild’ with expert talks going exploring topics beyond horticultural education.
glór director Orla Flanagan said: “It is exciting to see a festival expand and explore new areas. glór is delighted to support and assist Clare Garden Festival in its new dimension of film, entertainment and art and I look forward to hosting the new highlight Fringe event at glór in April.”
She continued by saying: “I recognise the interest in gardening and horticulture in Clare and nationally as a well-loved pastime and with such a strong gardening festival in our own county, it will be a pleasure to welcome gardeners, growers and outdoor enthusiasts to glór.”
The feature-length romantic adventure film ‘Dare to be Wild’ tells the true story of Mary Reynolds, a modern-day heroine, and environmentalist Christy Collard, whose shared passion for the wild takes them from the green hills of Ireland, to arid Ethiopia, to the Chelsea Flower Show. Dare to be Wild won an Audience Award for best narrative feature at Dublin International Film Festival.
The evening at glór will kick off with plantsman and RHS tutor Ciaran Burke exploring the humorous side of gardening. Mary Reynolds will join the event to speak about our relationship with the Earth aligned to her new book The Garden Awakening.
Beyond daring to be Wild in Gardening, Mary wants to inspire people to examine our relationship with the earth more closely and remember our role as guardians of the earth. “I look at the land the way a parent looks at a child,” she says.
“A child is vulnerable and needs our guidance. You can leave a child to grow wild, and it may survive but it would be an awful pity not to build a relationship with that child along the way, help guide it, avoid pitfalls, exchange love and nourishment. Land is the same and much can go wrong. But, with strong guidance we can fast-track the land back to being a mature, independent and stable ecosystem. The magic in this process is the chance to build a relationship with your land, one that is currently missing or damaged. It’s time to remember who we are.”
The Clare Garden Festival Fringe will also be featuring Irish Seed Savers garden visits on Saturday 29th April and it will link in with the fun-loving and bearded Corofin Festival of Finn. Gardening will also sweep Ennis town that weekend with Rowan Tree Café Bar at the forefront by offering a special gardeners menu. Further Fringe events will be added in the coming months.
“Clare Garden Festival has always aimed to be both a treat for gardeners and for all the family. Now we are underlining this by offering even more excitement for all ends of the spectrum.
Of course, if you look it from that perspective, you‘ll find that actually our festival day on the 30th April, already includes a lot that could be called Fringe and we always are keen for people to discover and explore all the hidden gems at our festival.”
“May I say a huge thank you to glór, Mary Reynolds, director Vivienne DeCourcy and Ciaran Burke for their support and encouragement,” she added.
For details on Clare Garden Festival and the festival fringe see www.claregardenfestival.com